Solid Immersion Lens Holder Segmented Protrusions
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing solid immersion lens holder suppresses the contact face's ability to follow the observation object due to a large frictional force caused by a spherical face portion and lens receiving face with the same curvature, leading to difficulty in closely contacting the observation object.
Innovation Solution
A solid immersion lens holder design featuring a first member with three protrusion portions that contact the spherical face portion, reducing the contact area and frictional force, allowing the lens to easily follow and closely contact the observation object, with the protrusions positioned at 120 degrees in the circumferential direction and intersecting the optical axis at a specific angle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the lens receiving face has the same curvature as the spherical face portion, then the solid immersion lens can be held stably, but the contact area becomes large causing excessive friction that prevents the contact face from following the observation object
Solution Approach 1:
The lens receiving face is segmented into multiple protrusion portions (three protrusions) instead of a continuous curved surface. This segmentation reduces the contact area between the holder and the solid immersion lens from a large surface contact to discrete point contacts, thereby reducing friction while maintaining stable positioning through the distributed support points.
Solution Approach 2:
The lens receiving face has non-uniform curvature with different regions serving different functions: the protrusion portions provide localized contact points with specific curvature radii that differ from the spherical face portion, creating local variations in contact properties that reduce overall friction while maintaining stable holding.
2Reliability
If the contact area between the solid immersion lens and holder is large, then the lens is securely held, but the frictional force increases preventing easy sliding to follow the observation object
Solution Approach 1:
The continuous contact surface is divided into three discrete protrusion portions, transforming the friction mechanism from surface friction to point contact friction. This segmentation maintains reliable holding through distributed support while dramatically reducing the total frictional force that opposes the lens sliding to follow the observation object.
Solution Approach 2:
The curvature radius of the protrusion portions is specifically designed to differ from the curvature radius of the spherical face portion. This parameter change optimizes the contact geometry to reduce frictional force while maintaining adequate holding reliability through appropriate contact point positioning.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design enables the solid immersion lens to easily follow and closely contact the observation object, enhancing the ability to acquire sharp images by reducing friction and maintaining a satisfactory slide while preserving the viewing field.
Implementation Method 1
a contact area with respect to the solid immersion lens can be decreased. Accordingly, because a frictional force acting on the solid immersion lens when the solid immersion lens swings decreases, the solid immersion lens and the solid immersion lens holder can easily slide on each other
Data Source
AI summary
A solid immersion lens holder includes a first member having a first opening disposing a spherical face portion therein so that a part of the spherical face portion protrudes toward an objective lens side and a second member having a second opening disposing a contact portion therein so that a contact face protrudes toward a side opposite to the objective lens side. The first member includes three protrusion portions extending from an inner face of the first opening toward a center of the first opening and configured to be contactable with the spherical face portion.